Fajar Alfian / Rian Ardianto Become The Only Indonesian Representative In The 2023 Malaysia Open Final

JAKARTA - The men's doubles Fajar Alfian / Muhammad Rian Ardianto became the only Indonesian representative to advance to the final round of the Malaysia Open 2023 thanks to a win over Kang Min Hyuk / Seo Seung Jae in the semifinals, Saturday, January 14.

The world number one pair beat the men's doubles from South Korea with two straight games 21-18, 21-17 in a match that took place at the Axiata Arena, Kuala Lumpur as reported by Antara.

The positive result also became a revans for Fajar / Rian over Kang / Seo after being defeated at the inaugural meeting at the Korea Open 2022, as reported by the official BWF website.

Fajar / Rian could not be directly in the match so he had struggled and was left behind at the beginning of the game. Even so, the Indonesian duo did not give up and continued to improve defense consistency.

Until finally through the interval break, Fajar / Rian turned things around through the acquisition of three points. The score, which was originally 13-15, was changed by Fajar / Rian to 16-15.

Fajar / Rian are increasingly daring to reply to Kang / Seo. The Korean duo continues to be aggressive, giving smashes and drives to Fajar / Rian.

However, Fajar Alfian / Muhammad Rian Ardianto were more alert and tried to intercept every blow from Kang / Seo from the front area of the net. This position was in favor of Fajar / Rian because he was able to cut off the opponent's attack quickly.

As a result, the Indonesian representative was able to end the pressure and win the opening game in 21 minutes.

Fajar / Rian's pattern and strategy in the second game is getting more mature. They were able to anticipate almost all of Kang / Seo's attacks and were more patient in playing rallies before turning off the opponent.

Fajar / Rian quickly locked the advantage from the start of the game, by securing a score of 5-4, 8-5, 11-8, to 16-11. A difference of five points made Kang / Seo's playing pattern uncontrollable and impatient.

The return error made by Kang / Seo proved to be beneficial for Fajar / Rian's position to reach the match point. Even so, Kang / Seo had time to put up a fight against Fajar / Rian and chased 20-17.

However, the Red and White Squad successfully sent one representative to the final round of the BWF Super 1000 tournament, thanks to a sharp smash that Rian sent towards the opponent's baseline. We are waiting for Fajar Alfian/ Muhammad Rian Ardianto's struggle in the top party of the Malaysia Open 2023.